The survivor of the 2017 Kerala sexual assault case has broken her silence following the acquittal of actor Dileep earlier this week by the Ernakulam Sessions Court, expressing deep anguish over what she described as unequal treatment before the law.
In a lengthy Instagram post, the actress explained her nearly nine-year-long legal battle, calling the verdict painful but not unexpected.
‘Not every citizen is treated equally before the law’
“After years of pain, tears and emotional struggle, I have come to a painful realisation, not every citizen in this country is treated equally before the law,” the survivor wrote, adding that the acquittal of the alleged mastermind had been something she had anticipated.
She said she had begun losing confidence in the judicial process as early as 2020, claiming she noticed changes in the manner in which the case was being handled. According to her, repeated requests to move the trial to another court or judge over “trust issues” were dismissed.
“This verdict may surprise many people, but it did not surprise me,” she stated, alleging that her concerns were consistently ignored despite approaching higher authorities, including political leaders and constitutional offices.
‘He was not my personal driver’
The survivor also addressed what she called “false narratives” circulated over the years regarding the prime accused who carried out the assault. “To those who keep saying that Accused No. 1 was my personal driver — this is completely false,” she wrote. She clarified that the accused was neither her employee nor someone she knew personally, but a person assigned as a driver for a film project she worked on in 2016.
She said she had met him “once or twice at most” before the assault, rejecting claims that attempted to establish familiarity between them. Earlier this week, the court acquitted actor Dileep while sentencing six other accused, including prime accused Sunil alias “Pulsar Suni,” to 20 years’ rigorous imprisonment for sexually assaulting the actress in a moving vehicle as she returned from a film shoot from Thrissur to Kochi.
The assault was filmed, and investigators had alleged a larger conspiracy behind the crime.
‘A small ray of light, but not closure’
The actress thanked supporters for standing by her through the prolonged trial, the survivor said the conviction of six accused offered limited relief but fell short of justice.
“After 8 years, 9 months and 23 days, I finally saw a small ray of light at the end of a very long and painful journey,” she wrote, adding that the convictions were a response to those who dismissed her ordeal as fabricated.
In her post, she listed multiple reasons for losing faith in the process, including alleged illegal access to crucial digital evidence while it was in court custody, the resignation of two public prosecutors during the trial, and repeated denial of her pleas to investigate alleged evidence tampering. She also claimed her request for open court proceedings was ignored.